South Korea's older investors turn to crypto, bank deposits drop by nearly 27 trillion won in 5 months

On South Korea's major cryptocurrency exchanges Upbit and Bithumb, the number of user accounts over 60 years old reached 775,718 (as of the end of September), an increase of 30.4% from the end of 2021. Users in this age group hold a total of 6.7609 trillion won in cryptocurrency assets, with an average investment of about 8.72 million won per person, the highest per capita investment among all age groups. During the same period, the number of accounts of users in their 50s increased by 22.5% (356,169), while those in their 20s decreased by 6.4%, and those in their 30s increased by only 8.3%. At the same time, the current deposit balance of South Korea's five major banks was 592.67 trillion won, a decrease of 26.95 trillion won from the end of June, setting a new low since January this year. Analysts believe that the effect of Trump's election and the expectation of interest rate cuts have accelerated the transfer of funds from banks to risky assets. Earlier news, South Korea's ruling party and opposition party have reached a consensus on postponing the taxation of cryptocurrencies. The cryptocurrency income tax policy originally scheduled to be implemented on January 1, 2024 will be postponed to 2027.